


Constants (despite the seasons)

by Amarantramentum



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Alternate universe: Immortal Journey, Character Study, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 07:08:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17824208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amarantramentum/pseuds/Amarantramentum
Summary: All things must change, yet there are things one cannot help but wish remain constant through the seasons.





	Constants (despite the seasons)

**Author's Note:**

> Since it is probably a little vague from the tags themselves - this is an Enduring Sword Talon/Shadow Assassin Kayn fic.

_Nothing is ever constant._

_Even the land one day will change_

_Bit by bit, until the day one looks up_

_And recognises nothing._

_Not even the sky._

* * *

**_Winter_ **

The year began as every year before did – with the longest, coldest night of the year, and honouring one’s loved ones as one always should. Talon, however, had no one left to revere. He was hatched from a pearl egg with neither parents nor guardians, and over his thousands of years, had watched those he trusted leave him, whether by choice or force.

Kayn, on the other hand, was trained long ago by a master by the name of Zed, and this year, Talon would join his beloved on his journey to the mortal realm to honour his master, as he was now Talon’s father-in-law, and the closest thing he imagined he ever would have to a true father.   

* * *

Talon had no abundance of love for the mortal realm – while it was the place he first met his beloved, and where he learnt, with time, that one must always have respect for oneself and those around oneself in equal measure, it nonetheless was not his _home_. No, his home was in the divine realm, in a palace amongst the clouds, where always the waterfalls fell. It could never hold a candle to the home he had spent millennia growing up in, dancing beneath the waterfall and picking lotus seeds in the summer, even if it served as a home for him once, and as a place where he truly _grew_.

It was Kayn’s home, and the place where they first met, and thus held… _some_ place in his heart.

They welcomed the new year over a hot pot – with meat and vegetables aplenty, and when they stayed up all night, it was not only to speak of all the things the other had missed, but also to wish one’s elders good health and longevity.

Kayn missed the mortal realm terribly, and so Talon promised to stay with him too – not out of a sense of duty to the one he loved, but because he wished to see him happy too. Talon had servants in the palace who could take care of the affairs in the immortal realm, and there were messengers who always could relay the most pertinent of information, but Kayn had only one parent, and he deserved to be cherished as such. 

* * *

In the dead of winter came the blossoming of the plum trees. How wonderful they were, elegant and delicate in their multitudes against the starkness of winter and the soft, sweet scent that coloured the world despite it all. They looked so terribly delicate, as if their petals might fall to the ground with even the gentlest of breezes.

Nonetheless, they were one of the gentlemen of flowers, born in the coldness of winter and symbolic of persistence and dauntlessness. Talon smiled at that thought, for it described much of Kayn’s personality. While perhaps he saw himself as weak and unable, particularly when his dark moods overtook him, always there was proof of his strength in everything he dedicated himself to.

Once, perhaps, he may have been a child, lost with no hope of surviving, yet he had picked up those shards of himself and fashioned himself into a weapon, following the path of a dark cultivation in order to protect his master and his land from foreign invaders. Once, perhaps, he was a child with no means of defending himself, but he had since then stubbornly made himself into someone to be respected and feared, even, if one were on the wrong side of all he considered important.

To Talon, it was deeply admirable indeed. 

* * *

**_Spring_ **

It was in spring that Talon’s cycle finally came to a close, and five-hundred years culminated in a desire to mate with the one to whom he had promised himself. It was a natural desire of the body, he knew, but nonetheless found himself overwhelmed and deeply mortified by how his body took from him any and all control he once had as instead it succumbed to the basal, carnal part of him he oft wished to ignore altogether.

Kayn held him then, and instead smiled softly and reassured him they would be fine – after all, had they not planned that one day, they would have a brood of their own? A clutch of eggs, born of a human whose scent of darkness pervaded everything he wore and did, and a once-disgraced dragon king, thrown from the heavens and returned with the humility that once was demanded of him… What a pair they made indeed.

His husband was oh-so-patient with him as he gathered all the silks he could find and made for himself a nest in which he curled up, heaving with sickness as it approached, yet not quite ready for the touch he required. Kayn was a fool, then, and had taken a moment to commune with his master, so terribly far away, yet so very close indeed with the magics he had cultivated over time. Feverish and so terribly ill with desire, Talon had instead done all he could with the shadows Kayn left in his wake, obedient and somehow cognisant of their master’s mate’s needs.

It was with great surprise that they discovered he had fallen pregnant, and that in the coming months, he would swell with eggs until finally his body was ready to have their clutch. He was exhausted, of course – worn out by days of mating, and his pride wounded by his beloved’s absence, but blue limbs held him closely and gently, and Kayn whispered soft words and promises to take care of him and his brood, and perhaps it was not so bad after all…

As the days passed, the orchids bloomed, gentle flowers with gentle scent and beautiful petals in pale shades.  Talon delighted in their soft scent, and picked a few to display beside his bed, so always he could wake up to their delightful, sweet scent and their humble, noble form – so fragile in their beauty.

They reminded him terribly of Kayn, for he, too, had his sweet moments where it seemed as if he could harm not even a fly. It was in these moments that Talon truly felt his heart soar, and the blood rush to his face and colour his cheeks, for never had he dreamt he one day would find someone to treat him so gently one could almost imagine he were not a man, not a king, not a dragon, but a sculpture of the daintiest material, susceptible even to the slightest breath.

As he held Talon and promised all would be fine, it felt as if he were promising him the truth and nothing more. 

* * *

**_Summer_ **

Summer brought upon her soft blue wings the day Talon’s clutch hatched, warmed for months by his body curled about their pearlescent shells.  Their brood was numerous indeed, as all dragon broods were, and Talon delighted in how they loved to nestle up to him, tiny bodies no longer than a finger’s length curled up as closely as they could to his warmth. He delighted too in how they loved to climb over cloth and skin both to nestle in Kayn’s hair, curled up atop his crown to gently snore.

He laughed at how Kayn doted on their children, holding them to human standards of helplessness and neediness when truly, dragon children were able to hunt and move soon after hatching. It was quite a challenge indeed to convince him they needed no looking after, save ensuring they ate and drank enough to ensure their growth, for they were cognisant of the world around them already and could survive on their own.

Talon fed them meat chewed up until it was soft and easily swallowed, but Kayn recoiled from the idea, and instead made them meat tenderised in broth – it was much less intimate and much less… unhygienic, in his opinion, and while Talon agreed, he would not besmirch how children had always been fed for the sake of such things. After all, it required time and preparation, and he did not always have such a luxury as he took care of so large a brood.

The dragons grew quickly, as all hatchlings did, and soon, they were no longer the length of a finger, but the length of an arm, with snapping jaws and bright eyes and an affinity for the water inherited from their father. It was time finally to show them to the water, and as Talon watched them splash and play in the babbling creeks as he once had, he smiled and rested his head upon Kayn’s shoulder, his fingers seeking out Kayn’s so he might entwine them together.

All around them were bamboo forests, bright and strong and green, shading them with long, sharp leaves and feeling very much like home as he reminisced upon how he once had chopped one down and fashioned the very flute that now rested by his side, tucked into his waist skirt. It was a beautiful, simple thing; lacquered elegance and a charm of red string hanging off its length.

He sat up and played it for them all now – a beautiful tune, lively as their children as they swam in the water.

Bamboo was the flower of summer, and to Talon, it was easy to find parts of Kayn in them, too. With their hollow stems, they were thought of as tolerant and open-minded – a trait of Kayn’s he had quickly become acquainted to, as he accepted him for the vengeful marauder of southern villages he once was, and instead asked if he was willing to change the person he had become. With their flexibility and strength came the belief that they symbolised flexibility – yielding, yet never breaking in the face of trouble.

Talon snuck a glance at Kayn and pressed a kiss to his cheek then. Oh, how wonderful he found his husband, having come back time and time again despite all that he had faced. He was strong, of course – one could never dream of denying that – yet always, he sprung back from all that life threw his way, as if always, he was destined to succeed.

Just as always, the bamboo was destined to bend but not snap. 

* * *

**_Autumn_ **

As the moon swelled, it soon would be time to celebrate the last of the harvests, with food and wine and – perhaps Talon’s favourite aspect of the festival – _mooncakes_. He was taught long ago to make them, with dough surrounding lotus paste and a salted egg yolk to represent the fullness of the moon, pressed into a wooden mould to be baked until they were beautifully brown and cooked.

It was a tradition of the palace, as all the servants gathered to make them with him, so there would be plenty for them all, their families, and many left over as gifts and offerings for the festival to come.

Talon giggled as he taught Kayn to use a scale to measure the dough, and a few of their children – not quite old enough to help out, yet loving to watch the organised chaos and sweet pastries that came of it – sat upon a chair nearby, shouting out helpful suggestions: ‘more!’ and ‘less, _Fùqin_!’ They, too, loved to watch as Talon snuck bites of salted yolk and spoonfuls of lotus paste, shouting out in indignation and laughing as the servants berated him for doing to.

Talon pouted then, for he had never been told off like so. 

* * *

In the courtyard was an altar, with fruits as offerings to the dieties, and soy beans and flowers for the Jade Rabbit, who resided upon the moon. Talon never was one for worship, as he had lived within the realm of the immortals all his life, and as such never saw such a need, but this year was like no other at all, and he felt that – for the first time in his life – he was grateful for something indeed.

The incense sticks felt terribly delicate in his hand as he lit them, fragrant smoke wafting off into the night sky as he knelt before the altar and lowered his head solemnly. First, he apologised for besmirching the gods so, and begged forgiveness for his pride. Then came his true wishes – that Kayn would remain in good health and stay beside him for all of time, and that their children all would grow happy and healthy and go on to live long and joyous lives.

He had no wishes for himself, for living now felt as if it were a wish come true – he was beloved by someone he deeply respected, had a family now, and needed never fear again the gossip of servants nor the usurpers from beyond his castle’s walls. No, from himself, there was only thanks to the gods for their kindness and generosity, and a promise to never squander what they had given him. 

* * *

Later that night, as they prepared to sleep, Talon poured both Kayn and himself chrysanthemum tea, and as he watched the blossoms float in the water, he was struck with the realisation it was the flower of autumn. Blooming in the autumn and foretelling winter, it was a noble flower which symbolised having the strength of virtue to withstand adversary, wherever it may come.

As he cuddled up to Kayn, then, he found himself thinking that perhaps, beside Kayn, they truly could withstand anything at all. After all, Kayn was a deeply moral man, finding it within himself to protect those who deserved it and wishing only to harm those who did others wrong, and from him, Talon himself learnt humility and the morality he once had thought of only as a cage to contain higher creatures such as himself.

Yes. Just as the chrysanthemum withstood the oncoming winter, they, too, could brave all. 

* * *

_Even so, one always hopes_

_That certain things will remain constant –_

_Love, life, and all that one holds dear._

_Remain constant, please,_

_For the loss would break one’s heart._


End file.
